“Lead Today helps me every day!”

Poverty, misogyny, violence on the streets of her hometown —

These were devastating challenges for Karla in Peru … and then she had the same challenges that most teenagers everywhere face:

“Lead Today helps me every day,” she says. “It helps me know how to react to situations where before I did not know what to do. It also helps me know how to reach people who do not know the Lord.”

She now has new enthusiasm, and she can’t wait to go to the Lead Today class each week and learn more! Your gift of God’s Word is transforming her into a strong Christian and a good leader.

How Lead Today was created for Africa — and has been exported all over the world

Program Highlights

Our partners in Ghana had a request back in 2016:

Help us show teenagers why it’s important to become a leader!

We partnered with leadership expert John C. Maxwell to create an appealing program for young people that teaches them from God’s Word about what it means to be a Christian leader — and it proved to be life-changing!

“My prayer is for other young people to have this opportunity, too.”

Rural South Africa can be beautiful — but life there can be difficult. Schools are few and far between: children and parents may have to choose between a child’s going away to boarding school or not attending school at all.

This is how he became involved in Lead Today, and he found the program transformative! Today he has graduated from high school and is preparing for law school. Reflecting on Lead Today he says:

“I hope and would love to continue living like Daniel, whose character had no flaws, leading his enemies to agonize looking for his faults. My prayer is that many other young people will have the opportunity to be part of the life-transforming programs OneHope presents to youth.”

THE KEY PRINCIPLES OF GODLY LEADERSHIP PLUS A FOCUS ON THE ULTIMATE LEADER, JESUS

This is Lead Today!

“Lead Today teaches important principles of biblical leadership. It was developed first in Ghana for use in Africa, but is now used in nations all over the world. Some of the Ghanaian teenagers reflect on the principles they’ve learned …. ”          —Philip

“Through the lessons, I learned many things. One of my favorite parts was timing. There’s a particular time God has for every individual, and it’s up to us to wait for the right timing.”     —Ckobby

“When I read Lead Today, I got to know that a leader is chosen by God. You don’t just turn up one day to be a leader unless you are appointed or elected to be a leader.”      —Jennifer

“If you want to be a leader, you must have integrity and set a good example. If I am the Scripture Union leader, and I don’t have good behavior, some of my colleagues won’t come because I’m not setting a good example.”    —Bernice

“You must respect others so they can also see their importance to be part of the leadership. I always am asking God that this virtue will continue to be in me so His glory can shine. As I am going to various places, I can teach people around me.”    —Grace

“I didn’t know how to stand in front of people and speak, but now I can speak boldly in front of people, and I feel free to speak up wherever I go. I want everyone to have faith in God, so I evangelize and spread the Gospel to my friends.”   —Phylis

How will you make an impact this fall?

Two great options:

• If you have a Donor Advised Fund, the resources are already donated and just waiting to be put to work! Every $1 you give will reach 3 children and youth with the Good News. Please don’t just let that money sit there … let it start transforming lives by the power of God’s Word!
• If you’re 70½ years or older, you can make a rollover gift from your IRA and not add a dime to your taxable income. If you’re 73 or older, you can give up to $100,000, and it counts toward your required minimum distribution.

These are cost-effective ways to give and make a big impact with God’s Word! 

When children engage with the Word, their hearts are open for the Holy Spirit to draw them to faith in Jesus.

Lead Today operates in this exact way, making God’s Word relevant to teenagers — with an added emphasis on showing them the important traits of the Bible’s leaders, including the ultimate example of godly leadership: Jesus Himself.

Why is this one of our most requested programs — and why do we invest in building leaders?

The main answer to both those questions is the same: Godly leaders are desperately needed all over the world.

And there’s another answer: We invest in godly leaders because today’s leadership won’t be around forever.

This is what we do for our own sons and daughters: we rear them in the fear and admonition of the Lord and train them to follow Jesus in their own ways and according to their own calling.

For millions of boys and girls all over the world, there’s no one in their life showing them how to grow up and become leaders. They don’t have Christian parents — or they don’t have parents at all.

Our passion is to be able to step into their lives, through Lead Today, to show them the love of Jesus and to show them how He wants to raise them up to become the Christian leaders of tomorrow.

What a privilege!

NATION BY NATION

She learned to be a leader — in a war zone

Angelina completed the Lead Today program her last year in high school and went on to university determined to be the kind of Christian leader God could use.

Her friends and fellow students at college weren’t so sure … After all, most college students in Ukraine are drinkers —

Studies show most Ukrainian schoolchildren have tried alcohol before age 16, and in a survey, 12% of adolescents said they’d been drunk in the past 30 days.¹

“I remembered the lesson about integrity in the Lead Today program,” she says. “So most of the year has passed, and I still live a godly life. And God helps me to be a good example for others.”

Despite the devastating pressures and ongoing destruction of war in Ukraine, Angelina is strong in her faith and helping to lead others to trust in God in their most difficult times.

When Angelina learned the valuable lessons in Lead Today, none of us could have predicted the circumstances her country would face or the pressures she would encounter. But thanks to you, God’s message of hope and encouragement was there when she needed it desperately. Thank you!

¹ Svitlana Shchudlo et al., “Alcohol Consumption Among Ukrainian Adolescents: Family and Pandemic Factors,” Alcoholism and Drug Addiction/Alkoholizm i Narkomania 35 (2): 73-92.